Tristian Griffin, Asili Johnson and Johanna Kepler are the latest multi-faceted artists to join the Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis Program (MFAEIP). The MFAEIP is a two-year, full-time terminal degree program dedicated to expanding dance and embodied knowledge across cultures, communities and contexts. The program endorses dance as a transformative force in society and engages students whose research centers around interdisciplinary experimentation.
The Duke Dance Program is thrilled to introduce a brand-new cohort of MFA-seeking graduate dance artists to campus. Tristan Griffin, Johanna Kepler and Asili Johnson bring fierce and diverse commitments to dance as a powerful and transformative force in society to Duke’s one-of-a-kind Master of Fine Arts in Dance Program.
Each artist draws from distinct dance traditions and aesthetic influences. They also connect choreography to larger issues of identity, movement, citizenship and migration, embodied ancestral lineages and historical retellings and dance’s complex intersections with industry, labor and economics.
Their talents are boundless, and their questions could not be more urgent. With a constant influx of talented artists guiding our way, we on the Duke Dance faculty cannot wait to see where their explorations lead.
Tristian Griffin
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Degree: B.A. Ballet, minor English | Texas Christian University
Following graduation, Tristian began his professional career dancing with the Garth Fagan Dance Company, Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera House and Springboard Danse Montreal.
In 2019, he began his endeavor as a choreographer by starting his dance company, Tristian Griffin Dance Company. As a choreographer, Tristian has been commissioned by numerous institutions and companies, including Kennesaw State University, Newport Contemporary Ballet, Peabody Institute of The John Hopkins University and Malashock Dance Company.
In 2023, he was selected as a recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Residency, the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship. At Duke, he will also pursue a certificate in African and African-American Studies.
Why Duke?
“Duke’s MFAEIP and African and African American Studies (AAAS) programs are the most equipped for my research. The Dance Program is robust, and AAAS offers courses like Black Frame: African American Documentary Film, Black Performance Theory, Theories of Corporeality and Embodiment of African Diasporic Movement.”
M.F.A. Research
Tristian will go further in-depth in his research to identify what is “Black art” by investigating the correlation of how Blackness is perceived in dance, literature and film. Given the Dance Program’s depth in Black performance epistemology and his constant problematization of what Black dance is and is not, Tristian will arrive at a scholar-artist critical framework that oscillates between performance pedagogy and practice as/of research.
Asili Johnson
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Degree: B.A. Economics and Dance Performance & Choreography | Spelman College
Asili Johnson is a choreographer working at the cross points of performance, authenticity and business, and is invested in watching the process come to life. While at Spelman College, she produced her first work, “Stand N Your Purpose: The Asili Sankofa Story,” an auto-ethnographic work of re-self-discovery that premiered at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
She is enamored by the Black vernacular dances that inform her movement with her background in traditional American genres of dance while being rooted in her training in traditional West African dance and rhythms. She also values authenticity, intricacy and musicality in her practice. Her ingenuity and ability to transcend movement and choreography speak for themselves and come from years of practice where she allows her ancestors to lead the way.
Why Duke University?
“I came to Duke for the opportunity to take my research in the direction of my choosing with the flexibility to explore all that the MFAEIP has to offer. I look forward to having the opportunity to use interdisciplinary elements during my research process and create work that embodies these practices. The faculty and staff at the graduate and undergraduate levels have made me feel welcome from the first email.”
M.F.A. Research
Asili will focus on the intersection of where emotion and memory are held in the body, using musical vibration and dance at the epicenter. This research will include work exploring dance ethnography, blood memory, collective memory and spirituality.
Johanna Kepler
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Degree: B.F.A. Dance, minor in Latino Studies | University of Michigan
Johanna Kepler is a choreographer, creative director and visual artist. Her work is centered around community building and creating platforms for people of color to share their stories and histories. In addition to her work in the studio, Johanna is researching ways to educate artists on how to create new revenue streams and build more sustainable funding structures in the arts.
Since graduating, one of her community-based projects is Power of the Performing Arts, where Johanna interviewed over 300 professional performing artists worldwide and across artistic disciplines to discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts. This year, Johanna is launching a sequel to this project called Creativity Cost, which will explore the cost of being a post-pandemic creative.
Why Duke University?
“I chose the MFAEIP program because it will allow me the opportunity and space to research my diverse artistic interests both inside and outside of the studio. I'm looking forward to working with Duke's incredible faculty and my impressive cohort.”
M.F.A. Research
Johanna hopes to create meaningful work while at Duke, researching the effects of embodied trauma on communities of color, specifically Latino and Hispanic communities in the United States. Along with her choreographic work, Johanna’s long-term goal is to build new sustainable funding structures for performing artists.
The MFA application process for 2024-2025 is now open. The deadline to apply is December 19, 2024. To apply, please visit the website.
For more information, please join one of the open virtual office hours below with the Director of Graduate Studies Sarah Wilbur.
